I just installed OSX Mountain Lion, and now Safari doesn't work...

My issues is exactly what the title says. Safari opens, but hangs on every webpage I try to go to. Force quiting is my only option from there. I can open multiple tabs, etc. but cannot actually view a website. Had to get Chrome to come to the support page!

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem(s)?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:

Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.

When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.

If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: I didn't have any issues with Safari on a guest account. Interesting...

Step 2: Safe Mode made no difference.

Also of note, after rebooting after the Safe Mode test, Safari worked fine for a few minutes on my regular login account, THEN started to slow down and bog down a lot. Even after quiting, restarting the computer, etc, Safari hangs upon opening again.

Back up all data if you haven’t already done so. Before proceeding, you must be sure you can restore your system to the state it’s in now.

Quit Safari if it’s running. Then select  ▹ Force Quit... from the menu bar. A small window will open with a list of running applications. Safari may appear in that list, even though you quit it. If so, select it and press return. Close the window.

Step 1

In the Finder, press the key combination shift-command-A to open the Applications folder. Select the Safari icon in that folder and press the key combination command-I to open the Info window. There’s a checkbox in the Info window labeled Open in 32-bit mode. Uncheck it, if checked. Close the Info window and the Applications folder.

Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Delete the following items from the Library folder (some may not exist):

Caches/com.apple.Safari

Caches/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess

Caches/Metadata/Safari

Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginHost.plist

Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess.plist

Saved Application State/com.apple.Safari.savedState

Leave the Library folder open. Try Safari again. If it works now, stop here. Close the Library folder.

Step 2

If you still have problems, quit Safari again.

Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the page that opens.

Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:

rm -fr $TMPDIR../C/com.apple.Safari

Quit Terminal. Launch Safari and test.

Step 3

If Safari still doesn’t work right, quit, go back to the Finder and move the following items from the open Library folder to the Desktop (some may not exist):

Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies

Preferences/com.apple.Safari.LSSharedFileList.plist

Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

Preferences/com.apple.Safari.RSS.plist

Preferences/com.apple.WebFoundation.plist

PubSub/Database

Safari

(Note: you are not moving the Safari application. You’re moving a folder named “Safari.”)

Try again. This time Safari should perform normally, but your settings and bookmarks will be lost.

If the issue is still not resolved, quit Safari again and put all the items you moved to the Desktop back where they were, overwriting the newer ones that will have been created in their place. You don’t need to replace the files you deleted in step 1. Stop here and post again.

If Safari is now working normally (apart from the lost settings), look inside the “Safari” folder on the Desktop for a file named “Bookmarks.plist”. Select File ▹ Import Bookmarks from the Safari menu bar. Import from that file. Recreate the rest of your Safari settings. You can then delete the items you moved to the Desktop.

Note: This step will remove your Safari Extensions, if any, and their settings. If you choose to restore them, do so one at a time, testing after each step to make sure you haven’t restored the problem.

If you don’t like the results of step 3, you can undo it completely by quitting Safari and restoring the items you moved or deleted in that step from your backup, overwriting any that were created in their place.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Third-party system modifications are a common cause of usability problems. By a “system modification,” I mean software that affects the operation of other software — potentially for the worse. The following procedure will help identify which such modifications you've installed. Don’t be alarmed by the complexity of these instructions — they’re easy to carry out and won’t change anything on your Mac.

These steps are to be taken while booted in “normal” mode, not in safe mode. If you’re now running in safe mode, reboot as usual before continuing.

Below are instructions to enter some UNIX shell commands. The commands are harmless, but they must be entered exactly as given in order to work. If you have doubts about the safety of the procedure suggested here, search this site for other discussions in which it’s been followed without any report of ill effects.

Some of the commands will line-wrap or scroll in your browser, but each one is really just a single line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, and you can then either copy or drag it. The headings “Step 1” and so on are not part of the commands.

Note: If you have more than one user account, Step 2 must be taken as an administrator. Ordinarily that would be the user created automatically when you booted the system for the first time. The other steps should be taken as the user who has the problem, if different. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this paragraph doesn’t apply.

Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.

When you launch Terminal, a text window will open with a line already in it, ending either in a dollar sign (“$”) or a percent sign (“%”). If you get the percent sign, enter “sh” and press return. You should then get a new line ending in a dollar sign.

Step 1

Copy or drag — do not type — the line below into the Terminal window, then press return:

kextstat -kl | awk '!/com\.apple/{printf "%s %s\n", $6, $7}'

Post the lines of output (if any) that appear below what you just entered (the text, please, not a screenshot.) You can omit the final line ending in “$”.

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